Trump Administration Clearly Doesn’t Like the “No Kings” Rallies
The anti-No Kings push has started.
My counter to that is that it doesn’t take a lot of resources to organize a protest march.
But, of course, this is part of a broader attempt to discredit and delegitimize peaceful protests, which are protected by the First Amendment, in case anyone was wondering. This is trying to get the FNC viewers to dismiss what is likely to be a pretty good turnout this weekend.
There is a broader and more sinister thing going on here, however. The administration is continually linking Democrats in general with “domestic extremism” and thereby with Antifa and terrorism. It is a dangerous attempt to make legitimate protest and dissent appear outside the bounds of acceptable politics. The constant bleating about funding is yet again an attempt to make the normal appear sinister.
Recognizing that there has been an ongoing attempt to turn Antifa into some kind of bogeyman, it is almost amusing that a group of people who don’t want to be called fascists are saying that a movement whose name derives from a contraction of “anti-fascist” is their arch nemesis.
Along these same lines, I noted this from Politico in today’s tab post, but will share again here via Politico, Johnson describes planned No Kings rally as ‘hate America,’ ‘pro-Hamas’ gathering.
Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday slammed the No Kings protest march scheduled to take place at the National Mall next week, describing the planned protest as the “hate America rally” that would draw “the pro-Hamas wing” and “the antifa people.” His characterizations, however, drew condemnation from some Democrats who defended the protest movement, whose first big demonstration was overwhelmingly peaceful.
“They’re all coming out,” Johnson said Friday in an interview on Fox News. “Some of the House Democrats are selling t-shirts for the event. And it’s being told to us that they won’t be able to reopen the government until after that rally because they can’t face their rabid base.”
Then there’s this non sequitur.
I realize the goal is to tie the shutdown to the No Kings rallies, and that might work for low information voters (likely of the type that are already on their side), but that doesn’t explain the ones back in June, now does it?
Also, as a locution, “No Kings means no paychecks. No paychecks and no government” makes it sound like King=government, which isn’t really the message they want to send, is it? (Or is it?)
A reminder to the American public that the right to protest is enshrined in our Constitution (“… or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”)
Republicans, every day, showing that they don’t know what is in that document and/or that they don’t care.
The “funding” issue is out of Mad Vlad’s playbook. Remember protests in Russia in the mid 2000s? The Mad Vlad regime accused protestors of being funded by the US, and especially by Hillary Clinton. Some signs protestors carried mocked this by demanding Clinton pay up.
Oh, please do fuck off, you lying weasel-faced sack of moldy dogshit. Nobody is telling you that. Nobody on the No Kings side is linking the protest to the shutdown. You’re telling a stupid, shallow, transparent lie.
Here’s the truth: You won’t reopen the government because then you’d have to swear in Representative-elect Grijalva and she would provide the necessary signature to get the Epstein documents released to the public, and there must be something exceptionally damaging to the GOP in there because you’re doing everything you possibly can to keep it hidden.
I’m frankly hoping the check from Soros comes soon—before the trade war with China gets so bad I’m unable to afford a frog costume. Though I think I get a discount with my Antifa card.
I am really enjoying the silliness that’s coming out of Portland. I don’t know what the average low-information voter thinks about it, but for me it doubles down on the “peaceful” aspect and reduces the sting of “domestic extremism” claims. So hopefully we are winning the spin wars, or at least holding our own.
Every policy of this administration is unpopular; with more “disapprove” than “approve”. Every single one.
Every initiative, if you can call it that, of the Republican-controlled Congress is unpopular, with more “disapprove” than “approve”.
The trans-rights thing is rated very, very far behind other issues by voters in VA.
At this point they are running scared, and this is what that looks like.
@Jay L. Gischer:
Unpopular with the country. How popular are they with the MAGAt base? That’s what El Taco is president of, not the country.
@Mikey:
Just to be clear, I don’t disagree with your assessment of Johnson.
I did want to focus on the point about Grijalva. I’ve seen this point made elsewhere. I’m not sure I follow.
If this was the issue, couldn’t the Dems provide the necessary vote to re-open the government, thereby ensuring that Grijalva is seated, her vote is cast, and the Epstein docs are released?
Of course, the Dems could consider that the trade-off is not worth it, ie, holding the line on their current position is more important/strategic than the Epstein stuff. That said, I’d be surprised if every single one of the Dems agreed on this.
Regardless, the government will re-open at some point. And Grijalva will be seated. So, unless I’m missing something, it seems unlikely that the Repubs are keeping things shut down for this reason.
I very well could be missing something.
@Kathy:
There are more and more stories in the media with members of the base saying, “This isn’t what I voted for.” They thought they voted for tariffs instead of income taxes, not a trade war with China that wiped out much of the market for American soy bean farmers. They thought they voted for deporting all those illegals in the hellhole cities, not deporting the ones that do manual labor in agriculture. Tripling health insurance premiums. Forcing rural hospitals to close. And on, and on.
@Michael Cain:
You’d think people who weren’t yet born between 2017-2021 would be too young to vote in 2024….
When have new exorbitant tariffs not resultes in some kind of trade war, like, you know, those between 2017-2021?
The health insurance premiums thing seems to have been a bad tactical mistake from the GQP. There are signs they weren’t even aware of what they were doing in this matter. But, as per the Head Taco, they shall never ever back down.
One can hope.
A really bad economic downturn, complete with high unemployment, always turns people against the ruling party. We just saw far less than that sour people on Biden.
@Mimai:
Johnson may believe, or hope, that one of the 218 reps currently inclined to support the discharge petition will not do so due to intense arm twisting (e.g., of Nancy Mace) or actuarial reasons by the time he brings the House back into session.
“No Kings means no paychecks. No paychecks and no government” makes it sound like King=government, which isn’t really the message they want to send, is it? (Or is it?)
I’m convinced it is. It’s the classic way republics fall. Convince the public that the only way to restore order is to do away with the messy business of government-by-committee.